K-State vs. Oregon in Fiesta Bowl; other BCS bowl matchups

Irving, TX -- Kansas State and Oregon will face off in January after all, but not for the BCS national championship.

The Wildcats (11-1) and Ducks (11-1) were 1-2 in the BCS standings three weeks ago, but losses on the same day to Baylor and Stanford, respectively, knocked them out of the national title picture.

Instead the programs will meet in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3, as determined by the bowl committees on Sunday.

Said committees did not have a say in whether Northern Illinois would gain the Mid-American Conference's first BCS bowl bid, because the Huskies earned that chance by virtue of finishing in the top-16 of the final BCS standings.

Northern Illinois (12-1) had a 0.328 BCS average to finish 15th. As a result, the Huskies were locked into a big-money bowl and were selected to participate in the Orange Bowl opposite Florida State on New Year's Day.

The ACC-champion Seminoles (11-2) will be playing a Northern Illinois team without its head coach, as Dave Doeren announced Saturday he will be taking the open NC State position.

Another Jan. 1 matchup, the Rose Bowl, will feature the Big Ten and Pac-12 champions, as Wisconsin and Stanford won their respective title games over the weekend. The Badgers (8-5) only made it to the Big Ten title game because Ohio State and Penn State were each ineligible for postseason play. They took advantage of the opportunity by hammering Nebraska, 70-31, on Saturday to capture their third straight conference championship.

Stanford (11-2) also earned a third consecutive BCS bowl appearance by upending UCLA, 27-24, in the Pac-12 championship game. This will be the Cardinal's first Rose Bowl since the 1999 season when they lost to Wisconsin.

The Florida Gators (11-1) finished No. 3 in the final BCS standings to earn an automatic bid as an at-large selection from the SEC, and they will square off against Louisville in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2.

Louisville (10-2) wound up in a four-way tie with Rutgers, Syracuse and Cincinnati for the Big East crown, and the Cardinals were the highest of the teams in the final poll, securing their second BCS bowl appearance.